And on the other hand...

Monday, October 22, 2012

Week 3 of Batty Observations

For more than three weeks I've been watching Charlotte in her web. I concluded that it is "Charlotte" because the Wizard observed, "It's probably female...males are tiny, and she's probably eaten her mate by now."

Charlotte, decorating for the season.

The seemingly fragile rigging she inhabits is still well intact. I knew the silk was strong, but it really does have a tensile strength equal to steel. When I searched for this info, of course I found all manner of Halloween costume ideas based on spiders and their webs. So in a way, I consider my lanai decorated for the holiday. If I add a real pumpkin, I can consider it a totally natural decor. All I need is a bat to complete the look. I wasn't sure there were bats in Hawaii, but indeed there are. This one looks like a leaf.

Hawaiian Hoary Bat

More than 30 years ago, my son's first Halloween costume request was to "be a bat." It was a cute costume, created with wicker ribs and the black plastic you use in gardens. (Next year, he wanted to be a flying squirrel. It seemed unimaginative and repetitive, if inspired, and I expected him to grow up to be a glider pilot. Which he didn't.) It was with some delight that I enjoyed a humanoid bat flying around in the upper reaches of the stage at Die Fledermaus, which we went to see a couple Fridays ago. The Wizard thought it was tacky, but it took me back to a time when helping a small child pretend to be a bat was the greatest joy of my life.

In the meantime, Charlotte can continue to enjoy the view from her place on my balcony. Gives a whole new meaning to hanging out and enjoying the sunset.

My wife grew up to be a glider pilot :) Well, not really. But I did persuade her, twice, to go up in one, piloted by a real glider pilot, for an elevated and airy view of England. While I, fool that I am, opted for some hair-raising aerobatics, at the hand of the aerobatic champion of the UK. She remained aloft for some twenty minutes, each time, soaring about, losing three thousand feet, over that time. While I lost the same amount of altitude in under two minutes, being almost forced through the canopy by negative Gs, while the psychotic pilot tried, unsuccessfully to make me yield.

Tao With Me

TAO 61: A great nation flows downward into intercourse with the world. The female of the world always prevails over the male by stillness. Because stillness is considered lower, by lowering itself to a small nation a great nation takes a small nation; by being lower than a great nation a small nation takes a great nation. So one takes by lowering itself, another takes place by being lower. A great nation wants no more than to include and nurture people; a small nation wants no more than to admit and serve people. Both get what they want, so the great should be below.translated from the Tao Te Ching, Thomas CLeary